People with severe mental health challenges often face major barriers to employment. While over 75% want paid work, only 6–8% achieve it.
Berkshire Healthcare’s Individual Placement and Support (IPS) Employment Service, now celebrating its tenth anniversary, is looking for a Peer Employment Specialist to help change this. The role focuses on supporting people with severe mental health issues to gain, retain, and sustain paid employment.
At the start of your IPS journey, you will promote employment as a key part of recovery, working closely within Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) to build relationships and encourage timely referrals to the IPS service.
To apply, you must have personal experience of accessing secondary mental health services and feel able to manage your diagnosis well. Most importantly, we value your lived experience, resilience, willingness to support others, and ability to build positive relationships.
Full IPS training will be provided. You will support clinicians and clients in making informed choices about employment while helping challenge perceptions around mental health and work. Experience in supported employment or mental health services is helpful, but empathy, hope, and determination are essential.
There are two full-time roles (37.5 hours) available across the West and East Berkshire Community Mental Health Services teams, with travel required across Berkshire Healthcare locations.
Act as a visible and active presence within CMHS, promoting IPS and employment as a core part of recovery.
Build strong working relationships across CMHS to generate appropriate and timely IPS referrals.
Hold a caseload of around 20 clients , supporting individuals to explore employment goals in line with IPS principles.
Share lived experience appropriately to instill hope, build motivation, and reduce stigma around work and mental health.
Work closely with IPS Employment Specialists, clinicians, and MDT members to ensure integrated and coordinated support.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.
Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
Caring for and about you is our top priority
Committed to providing good quality, safe services
Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions
Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
Flexible working options to support work-life balance
27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
Generous NHS pension scheme
Excellent learning and career development opportunities
‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
Free parking across Trust sites
The “must haves” for this role:
A degree or experience in health, social care, or employment support
Y ou will need to have accessed secondary mental health services and have reached a time in your life where you feel you are able to manage your diagnosis well
Experience of working with and supporting people who have mental health issues (or other disadvantaged groups) into employment
Ability to travel across West /East Berkshire
Able to demonstrate through examples offered at interview e xcellent motivational, communication and listening skills
Able to demonstrate a high level of organisation and perseverance in the application and at interview
For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.
We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.
We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.
We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Gurpreet Athwal on 07815485139 or email:
[email protected] who’ll be delighted to help.
Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.
